Reducing Water-borne Related Diseases through the Provision and Rehabilitation of Water System in Laur, Nueva Ecija

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Yes, I'm eligible

Preferred language

English

Organization name

Alalay Sa Kaunlaran Inc.

Year founded

1987

Initiative stage

Start-Up (a pilot that has just started operating)

Annual budget in 2017 (USD)

$10k - $50k

Number of beneficiaries impacted so far

50 - 100

Organization type

Nonprofit, NGO, or citizen sector

Secondary Focus Area

Water

Headquarters location: Country

Philippines

Headquarters location: City

Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines

Location(s) of impact

Barangay San Isidro , Laur, Nueva Ecija, Philippines

Website

www.aski.com.ph

Some of the residents get water from well and hand pump

Ana fetch water from the hand pump and boil it for consumption

Existing small-scale water system benefiting only 12 households

Facebook URL

https://www.facebook.com/aski.sakaunlaran

Problem: What problem is this initiative trying to address?

Laur, Nueva Ecija in the Philippines is one of the Community Development (ComDev) areas of ASKI. Many children in the community suffered from various diseases like cerebral palsy, some were born blind and other were polio victims. Although the causes are still unknown, ASKI would like to help the community by addressing one of the issues in the community- the lack of potable source of water. For many years, community gets their drinking water from wells and some from hand pumps but not sure if it is safe for drinking.

Solution Summary: What is the proposed solution? What do you see as its most promising aspects for creating shared value?

ASKI with the help of the community in Laur, Nueva Ecija and one of its partners helped the community in building a small-scale water project. Currently, the project is only benefiting 12 households or around 60 individuals.
It has been noted that among the common diseases experienced in the community include amoebiasis and diarrhea among children and adults. Some of the residents are getting water from the well, spring and hand pump and boil it for 30 minutes for consumption.
Through the public, private and people/community partnership, ASKI would like to increase this to around 400 households benefiting around 2,000 community residents. Thus, through this application, we hope to provide more residents with a safe source of water especially for the children. Regular water testing will also be conducted.

Impact: What is the impact of the work to date? Specify both the social and the environmental impact of your work

The water project at the moment is benefiting a small number of community residents. The engagement of stakeholders include the following: the community residents have their equity through labor or pipe laying from the main source to their houses; the barangay or village council for the coordination with the local government unit; the ASKI Foundation and ASKI Microfinance assigned a community development officer doing the monitoring and provided financial support for their livelihood projects; and the Local Government Unit/ Municipality of Laur for the technical assistance especially on the engineering aspects.
In terms of environmental impact in the community, the microfinance group have created a policy on exclusion list of activities, enterprises and businesses that cannot be financed under any circumstances by the microfinance due to violation of Philippine or International Laws. Most of the residents belong to the bottom of the socio-economic hierarchy, thus limited earnings.

Financial sustainability plan: How is this initiative financially supported? How will you ensure its financial sustainability long-term?

The construction of the project in 2007 was supported by an international organization partner of ASKI- Opportunity International through a grant of Php 350,000 or USD 7,000 (USD1- Php50). Meanwhile, ASKI designated a community development officer to help in organizing and monitoring of the community.
To ensure the sustainability of the project, the beneficiaries agreed to pay water consumption for maintenance and other operating expenses. However, it it hoped that with the help of the prize, there will be an expansion in the pipeline to be able to connect more households. Capacity building in terms of organizational leadership will also be provided for community leaders especially to those who will manage the project.

Unique value proposition: What makes your initiative innovative? How does your project differ from other organizations working in the same field?

The project is a tri-partite partnership of public, private groups and the people/community. ASKI believes that having the sense of ownership of the community will help in maintaining a project as they also have their equities in most cases "sweat equity" or labor.
Working in this area is one close to the heart of ASKI as these kinds of people are the heart of its operation. Its mantra is to create opportunities and build sustainable communities

Founding story: Share a story about the "Aha!" moment that sparked the beginning of this initiative.

The community has a lot of persons with disabilities (PWDs), children were affected by various diseases like cerebral palsy, some were born blind, and polio victims- the community believed that there are several factors like the environment, lack of health centers for regular check-up and the environment.
Seeing this situation, ASKI decided to include the community as one of the ComDev areas and assist them in their need especially for potable water to avoid water-borne related diseases. This has been one of their main concerns but was not able to addressed by the government because of the lack of available funding. Although much remains to be done, the expansion of the water project will ensure a healthy and sustainable community.
Aside from these, ASKI also distributed school bags with school supplies and gift-giving for the PWD children during Christmas season.